Toddler reunited with mother after Amber Alert issued

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A relieved mother was reunited with her 18-month-old daughter in the back of an ambulance this morning after a terrifying six hours.

About 12:40 a.m., the mother pulled up to an apartment complex on the 900 block of W. Irving Park in Bensenville. She was speaking with a friend at the door while her car was running with her daughter was in the back seat. As the mother spoke to her friend, police say a man walked out of the apartment building, saw the car running, jumped in and drove away. Witnesses say the mother witnessed the man speed off in her vehicle.

“I saw that she was screaming, asking for baby,” said witness Yahira Olmos. “The first thing I did was call the cops.”

Police arrived on the scene immediately and issued an Amber Alert.

Meanwhile, about a mile away, Arturo Perez got home late from work and found the black Buick SUV in his driveway. He went to sleep and didn’t think much of it but was woken up by his roommate a few hours later saying there was a child in the back seat. They called police immediately.

Bensenville police chief Frank Kosman says he believes the car thief didn’t realize there was a child in the back seat, and didn’t intend to kidnap the little girl. He says the mother probably won’t be charged with anything, even though she made a mistake.